Monday, 29 January 2018

ACTING MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa , yesterday read the riot
act and warned his detractors, particularly top MDC-T officials, against
plotting to derail the coalition project ahead of this year’s general
elections.

Addressing a campaign rally at Chisamba Grounds in Mutare, Chamisa
who is standing in for ailing MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, declared
that the alliance was “irreversible”. “The MDC-Alliance is irreversible; there is no debate about that. We
are very loyal to it. If you have ulterior motives, then you can cause
divisions. This is about people and this is about people who have
suffered and the alliance is on the electoral act,’’ he said.When NewsDay later called him after the rally, Chamisa became evasive
and declined to discuss the matter, saying he preferred talking about
bigger issues such as preparations for the elections.This came amid reports that some top party officials in Mutare had
attempted to sabotage yesterday’s rally by absenting themselves while
others distributed posters falsely indicating the venue as Sakubva Beit
Hall.Since its birth in August last year, the coalition pact has faced
several glitches and a lot of resistance mainly from Tsvangirai’s
lieutenants who viewed it as a means to accommodate former “rebels” —
particularly Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, who now lead the PDP and
MDC but have joined the MDC Alliance.Other parties in the coalition are Transform Zimbabwe (Jacob
Ngarivhume), Agrippa Mutambara (ZimPF), Mathias Guchutu (MCD) and
Denford Musiyarira (Zanu Ndonga).The bone of contention has been the sharing of seats among the seven parties in the coalition pact.

In the MDC-T camp, friction over the alliance escalated over the past
few weeks after Tsvangirai left for further treatment in South Africa,
leaving Chamisa as acting coalition leader. This reportedly projected
the youthful Kuwadzana East MP as potential MDC-T and MDC Alliance
presidential candidate in the event the former Prime Minister remained
bed-ridden. The move has, however, triggered fierce internal fights with other
MDC-T vice-presidents Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri reportedly
snubbing alliance rallies addressed by Chamisa.Both Khupe and Mudzuri did not attend yesterday’s rally, although the
latter was at last week’s rally in Epworth, where he was allegedly
assigned a peripheral roll of giving “a vote of thanks” besides being
acting MDC-T president.Party insiders said Mudzuri immediately protested at being side-lined
and tempers only cooled down after other Alliance partners intervened. But Mudzuri yesterday dismissed the allegations saying he had many
tasks assigned to him by Tsvangirai, hence could not attend all MDC
Alliance functions.

“I think those are things that we can talk about and solve. We want to
work together and unite people. I am a mature person and I don’t have
time to squabble with anyone,” he said.

“Gossip will never end, it is destructive. We want to walk together as a party.”
Contacted for comment, Khupe, through her aide Witness Dube, said she
would not be drawn into the succession debate in the MDC-T.

“While it is the media’s privilege and duty to speculate, analyse and
make permutations about any issue it deems to be in the public interest
Dr Thokozani Khupe will not add her voice to the media smog on an issue
whose timing she believes is unAfrican, inhuman, undemocratic, and
altogether steered by misdirected interests hell-bent on running
parallel to constitutionalism, Ubuntu/Hunhu, and the founding culture
and values of the party,” Khupe said.Khupe said it was not time for canvassing, but praying for Tsvangirai who is battling colon cancer.An MDC-T insider in Mutare told NewsDay that resistance to the MDC
Alliance had permeated grassroots party structures, hence the discord
over preparations for yesterday’s rally.

“There has been an attempt to sabotage the event with some
top-ranking members in the MDC-T behind the sabotage. The People’s
Democratic Party PDP saved the situation. People like Giles Mutsekwa
and Tatenda Nhamarare (Mutare mayor) want the alliance,’’ the source
said.‘’The issue is to do with the allocation of seats. Just imagine
MDC-T Manicaland youth chairman Itai Masaka is worried because he wanted
the Mutasa South constituency but it was allocated to PDP and there is
Regai Tsunga, so people like Masaka are fighting and have support of
some provincial leaders.’MDC-T Manicaland provincial chairman Trevor Saruwaka confirmed the
hitches in organising the rally, but denied the sabotage reports. “I think those are usual negative news created by enemies. Our
provincial executive reiterated on Friday that they are in support of
the alliance. The delays by our organising department have to do with
lack of financial support and this has purely to do with our ecomomy,’’
he said.Saruwaka added: ‘’This has nothing to do with the divisions or
sabotage by some of the members as alleged. Who does not know that there
is no money in the country? The MDC Alliance in Zimbabwe is suffering
together with other Zimbabweans.’’

Speaking at the same rally, Ncube endorsed Chamisa as the alliance’s acting leader. Newsday